Risk Factors That Predict Future Onset of Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, Binge Eating Disorder, and Purging Disorder in Adolescent Girls.

Because very few prospective studies have identified risk factors that predicted future onset of threshold/subthreshold anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), binge eating disorder (BED), and purging disorder (PD), we analyzed prospective data collected from a large cohort of adolescent girls followed over an 8-year period to advance knowledge about risk factor specificity. Adolescent girls recruited from middle schools in Texas (N = 492; M age = 13.02 [SD = 0.73], age range = 11-15) completed questionnaires assessing risk factors at baseline and diagnostic interviews assessing eating disorders annually over 8 years. Only low BMI predicted future AN onset. Pressure to be thin, thin-ideal internalization, body dissatisfaction, negative emotionality, low parent support, and modeling of eating pathology predicted future BN onset. Pressure to be thin, thin-ideal internalization, negative emotionality, low parent support, and modeling of eating pathology predicted future BED onset. Pressure to be thin, body dissatisfaction, dietary restraint, low parent support, modeling of eating pathology, and high BMI predicted future PD onset. Predictive effects were medium-to-large. Results support etiological theories of eating disorders that postulate the pursuit of the thin ideal, body dissatisfaction, negative affect, dietary restraint, and interpersonal issues increase risk for most eating disorders. The evidence that girls with low body weight are at risk for AN, whereas girls with high body weight are at risk for PD are novel. Although several risk factors predicted future onset of BN, BED, and PD, results suggest that risk factors for AN are qualitatively distinct and should be investigated further.

Sequencing of symptom emergence in anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, and purging disorder in adolescent girls and relations of prodromal symptoms to future onset of these eating disorders.

BACKGROUND: To advance knowledge regarding the etiology of eating disorders, we characterized the sequencing of eating disorder symptom emergence for adolescent girls who subsequently developed anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), binge eating disorder (BED), and purging disorder (PD) for community-recruited adolescents and tested whether prodromal symptoms increased risk for future onset of each eating disorder. METHODS: Data collected from adolescent girls (N = 496; M age = 13.02, s.d.= 0.73) who completed a diagnostic interview annually over an 8-year period were used to address these aims. RESULTS: For all four eating disorders, compensatory weight-control behaviors were the first behavioral symptom to emerge and weight/shape overvaluation was the first cognitive symptom to emerge. Moreover, lower-than-expected BMI predicted future AN onset, binge eating and all cognitive symptoms predicted future BN onset, weight/shape overvaluation predicted future BED onset, and compensatory behavior and all cognitive symptoms predicted future PD onset. These predictive effects were small-to-large in magnitude. Collectively, prodromal symptoms predicted an eating disorder onset with 83-87% accuracy. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that compensatory weight-control behaviors and weight/shape overvaluation typically emerge before other prodromal symptoms in all eating disorders during adolescence. Moreover, different prodromal symptoms seem to predict future onset of different eating disorders. Screening adolescent girls for these prodromal symptoms and implementing indicated prevention programs designed to reduce these symptoms may prove effective in preventing future onset of eating disorders.

How prepartum appearance-related attitudes influence body image and weight-control behaviors of pregnant Japanese women across pregnancy: Latent growth curve modeling analyses.

A thin female physique is idealized in modernized societies, leading many pregnant women to experience body dissatisfaction and avoid weight gain, as pregnancy directs their body away from the sociocultural ideal of thinness. However, not all pregnant women report body dissatisfaction and/or weight-control behavior. We aimed to discern how prepartum weight-related attitudes-thin-ideal internalization, drive for thinness, and appearance comparison tendency-influence changes in negative attitudes toward a pregnant body, body image, and weight-control behavior across pregnancy. Data were longitudinally collected from 208 Japanese pregnant women (Mage = 27.0, SD = 1.74) across three pregnancy periods. Results indicated that overall, negative attitudes toward appearance change during pregnancy, weight-control behaviors, and restrained eating significantly changed across pregnancy. Moreover, those with higher prepartum thin-ideal internalization showed greater decreases in negative attitudes toward appearance change during pregnancy and greater increases in body dissatisfaction, whereas those with higher prepartum drive for thinness and appearance comparison tendency showed greater decreases in restrained eating across pregnancy. Our findings suggest that pregnant women with certain prepartum weight-related attitudes may experience an aggravation of body dissatisfaction while following dietary regimen during pregnancy. Thus, prevention programs may selectively help them reduce their negative body image during pregnancy.

Interethnic Influencing Factors Regarding Buttocks Body Image in Women from Nigeria, Germany, USA and Japan.

BACKGROUND: Body image research deals a lot with awareness of the body as an entity. Studies that consider individual anatomical aspects and place them in an intercultural context are rarely present. METHODS: For this purpose, general data, body perception and judgment of body images from 2163 (48% female and 52% male) participants from Germany, Nigeria, the USA and Japan were evaluated as part of a survey. RESULTS: There were clear differences in the personal body image of the participants' own buttocks, the buttocks as a beauty ideal and the way in which dissatisfaction was dealt with in different countries. In addition to sexual well-being (importance score: 0.405 a.u.), the country of origin (0.353), media consumption (0.042) and one's own weight (0.069) were also identified as influencing factors for satisfaction with one's own buttocks. A clear evolution could be derived regarding a WHR (waist-to-hip ratio) of well below 0.7, which was consistently favored by the participants but also propagated by influencers through images (p < 0.001). In this context, participants who indicated celebrities as role models for the buttocks showed a correspondingly high level of dissatisfaction with their own buttocks (R = -0.207, p < 0.001, ρ = -0.218). CONCLUSION: Overall, a highly significant correlation was shown between the consumption frequency of Instagram, TikTok and pornography with the negative perception of women's own buttocks.

Psychometric validation of the Japanese version of the Functionality Appreciation Scale (FAS).

The Functionality Appreciation Scale (FAS; Alleva et al., 2017) is a widely adopted measure to assess appreciation for one's body and its capacity. In this study, we performed a psychometric validation of the Japanese translation of the FAS. Participants included an online sample of 750 Japanese individuals (20-70 years old), who completed the FAS and other previously validated measures of body appreciation, intuitive eating, gratitude, self-esteem, and life satisfaction. Moreover, the survey was conducted twice, 3 weeks apart, to determine test-retest reliability. Exploratory factor analyses replicated the unidimensional factor structure of the FAS, which was also verified by the confirmatory factor analysis. FAS scores had gender invariance, and demonstrated good internal consistency and test-retest reliability over the 3-week period. In addition, further analyzes indicated adequate construct, and incremental validity. These findings indicate that the Japanese version of FAS demonstrates good psychometric properties, and can be used to examine the importance of functionality appreciation for enhancing positive body image and healthy eating.

Exploring the gratitude model of body appreciation and intuitive eating among Japanese women.

Culture is believed to play a central role in body image and eating problems, and for this reason, it is important to conduct cross-cultural investigations of relevant theoretical models. This study involves a non-Western replication of one of the few existing models of positive body image, the gratitude model of body appreciation, which was originally developed using American women. The model postulates that a grateful attitude is associated with body appreciation and intuitive eating via reduced contingent self-worth and social comparison. The current study aims to examine the applicability of the model to Japanese women. A sample of 648 Japanese women (age range = 15-69, M = 42.1, SD = 15.7) completed online measures of gratitude, contingent self-worth, social comparison, body appreciation, and intuitive eating. In general, all paths in the original model were replicated in the current model. However, two new paths were added to achieve good fit, including a path from basing one's self-worth on others' approval to body appreciation and another path from gratitude directly to intuitive eating. These differential pathways are discussed in the context of Japanese culture that emphasizes appreciation towards foods and self-definition based on social approval. In addition, implications for intervention are described.

An exploration of the psychometric properties of the SATAQ-4 among adolescent boys in Japan.

Research among Western adult and adolescent males suggests that sociocultural influences are implicated in the drive for muscularity and weight-change behaviors. However, few studies have examined these relationships among adolescent boys from non-Western backgrounds. The current study sought to assess the psychometric properties of the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-4 (SATAQ-4), a 22-item, 5-factor measure of sociocultural influence on appearance ideals, among Japanese (n = 984) adolescent boys. Relationships between appearance-related pressures, appearance ideal internalization, appearance-related teasing, drive for muscularity, and weight-change behaviors were also assessed. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses identified a four factor solution (Internalization: Thin/Low Body Fat, Internalization: Muscular/Athletic, Pressures: Media, and Pressures: Family/Peers) with 16 items in this sample. Correlational analyses supported the construct validity of the SATAQ-4. Thin internalization was associated with strategies to lose weight, while muscular internalization was associated with drive for muscularity and strategies to gain weight. Further, peer and parental appearance teasing was associated with perceived appearance pressures from family and peers, as well as weight change strategies. Overall, results suggested modification of the SATAQ-4 when used with Japanese samples, but supported its use to assess sociocultural influences. Additionally, the results highlight that sociocultural influences and muscularity concerns among Japanese adolescent boys are associated in similar ways with weight change strategies as has been established for adolescent males in Western countries.

[Subjective happiness among Japanese adults: An upward tendency associated with age].

Objectives　The present study investigated subjective happiness in Japanese adults and offers basic knowledge for future studies. In addition, how subjective happiness varies in relation to certain demographic variables, such as gender and age, as well as factors that influence this variability, are examined.Methods　A total of 2,000 Japanese people (1,000 females and 1,000 males) over the age of 20 completed an anonymous self-report internet survey. There were approximately the same number of participants in each of six age groups ranging from the 20s to 70s. How Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS) scores were related to various demographic variables, including gender and age, as well as happiness, life satisfaction, and stress response, were analyzed.Results　The validity of the SHS was supported by positive correlations with happiness and life satisfaction scores and negative correlation with stress response scores. The results also showed that females had higher SHS scores than males, and this gender difference was distinctive, especially among young adults. In addition, there was a U-shaped change in SHS score by age. That is, subjective happiness dropped with age, but started increasing again after the 50s. The same findings were reconfirmed by an additional survey one year later. Moreover, those with a spouse showed higher SHS scores than unmarried participants. Lastly, SHS scores were low among those whose highest education was junior high school and those who lived alone, although the limitations of sampling bias should be considered.Conclusion　The SHS is an internationally accepted measure of subjective happiness consisting of only four items and can easily be used in public health research and practice. The current study offers basic information regarding SHS scores as well as subjective happiness in Japanese adults of different age groups and genders. The findings of the present study clearly indicate higher levels of subjective happiness among older age groups than younger ones, those with a spouse than those without a spouse, and females than males. As many studies conducted in other cultures have shown no such gender difference, further cross-cultural comparison studies are needed to clarify this discrepancy. The SHS as an indicator of personal well-being can be strongly expected to show extended utility in the future.

An experimental investigation of a psychoeducational strategy designed to reduce men's endorsement of societal ideals of women's attractiveness.

The current study evaluated whether a psychoeducational manipulation, focused on reducing an unrealistic view of women's attractiveness, might affect men's ratings of the attractiveness of females. The participants were 159 male undergraduate students who were randomly assigned to four conditions: psychoeducational message (beauty ideals; marketing strategies) and photo exposure (attractive females; household products). The results indicated that males pre-exposed to attractive female images subsequently evaluated average females as less attractive than those exposed to household products. However, a psychoeducational information condition designed to challenge "beauty ideals" did not reduce the adverse exposure effect and was comparable in effectiveness to the "marketing strategies" manipulation. The limitations of the findings are discussed and avenues for future research in this area offered.

The tripartite influence model of body image and eating disturbance: a replication with a Japanese sample.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the tripartite influence model of body image and eating disturbance as a viable sociocultural explanation for the development of eating and body image problems with young Japanese females. METHOD: A sample of 289 Japanese female undergraduates completed a variety of measures designed to index family, peer, and media influences, as well as levels of body dissatisfaction, eating disturbances, and self-esteem. RESULTS: The data were evaluated with structural equation modeling to test the tripartite model. Fit indices indicated a moderate fit to the overall tripartite model, replicating previous findings. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that the sociocultural variables found to influence body image and eating disturbances in Japan are similar to those observed with US samples. The implications for prevention and intervention programs are discussed.

Women's exposure to thin-and-beautiful media images: body image effects of media-ideal internalization and impact-reduction interventions.

Exposure to media images of thin-and-beautiful women negatively affects the body image and mood states of young women. However, not all women are equally susceptible to these effects. The present experimental investigation with 123 young college women evaluated the moderating effects of the extent of internalization of media ideals. It also examined the preventative impact of two brief interventions (i.e., media literacy information with and without a dissonance-induction procedure). Results indicated that relative to a control group, the exposure to thin-and-beautiful media images adversely influenced the state body image of participants with high internalization levels. Media-literacy psychoeducation prior to the media exposure prevented this adverse effect. Adding a pre-exposure dissonance-induction procedure did not significantly enhance the preventative effects relative to psychoeducation alone. These results and their implications for the treatment and prevention of body image disturbances are discussed in the context of the empirical literature on the media's effects on body image.